Jiri’s Journal #1
Hi, ahoj,
Jiri here, glad to make it to your inbox. This is my first public journal. I’ll share what I’m building, what I’m excited about, where I’m investing, and what’s happening in my life. I’ll send these whenever I have the time and energy to write.
I’m writing this first journal from rainy London. Bara and I are spending a week watching Wimbledon (we both love tennis) and working from a WeWork. Currently, this song is playing on Apple Music, if you want to listen while you read. I wrote this myself, and there are no sponsorships.
My life recently
I started January in Thailand (Koh Lanta), then went skiing in the Alps and fishing for cod in Norway with my father, plus a few smaller trips. We spent May and June in SF and NYC. I think every tech startup founder should spend a few weeks a year in SF to meet other founders and investors and see what people are building. We’re keeping Prague as our base, close to family, friends, and the VOS team. Honestly, I think Prague offers the best value for money in the world. We love it there.
VOS updates and a new product
For the last three years, I’ve been running VOS.health, a B2C mental health company. We help millions of people around the world, and our technology has saved lives. From one founder to another: we have more than six months of runway and are preparing for our Series A. We have 13 full-time employees, seven-figure dollar ARR, and have raised $2.7M over the past three years. In the first half of 2024, we repositioned the product around work-related stress. It seems to be working, and we expect growth in Q3 and Q4.
We’re also launching a new AI therapy platform in a few weeks. I’ll share more soon. You can join the waitlist here if you want to try it early.
The B2C market and fundraising have been tough in 2024, with a large drop in volume even among our biggest competitors. Valuations are falling, and acquiring customers costs us much more than in previous years. But I think things will get better for startups in the second half of the year. To be honest, business has been one of the toughest parts of my life lately.
I’d put my happiness at about 8 out of 10.
Tips for building apps and SaaS
A few resources I’ve found useful for building apps and startups:
State of in-app subscriptions 2024 from Adapty covers subscription trends and pricing. RevenueCat also has a report on this topic.
I recently met the founder of an AI-generated ads company called Arcads. B2C app teams need a lot of ads to test. This tool helps us make them for a few hundred dollars.
I’m excited about Figma AI, OpenAI Sora, Apple Intelligence, and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet. I’m bullish about what comes next and trying to keep up with the research.
First-time founders often ask me where to learn the basics. I recommend Y Combinator’s videos on YouTube.
I follow these SaaS founders on X: @levelsio, @sobedominik, @marc_louvion.
I recently discovered this book. I’ve followed Andrew for years and recommend checking it out.
If you’re looking for a place to start building, I visited a company in SF called Buildspace. It’s a community for people working on their own ideas. (I also like their Instagram)
For onboarding ideas for your next SaaS project, this might help.
Things I’ve been using lately
Kindred - We’ve been using Kindred to swap flats while traveling. We spent a week in a Manhattan flat for $150.
Arc - I’ve switched from Chrome and Safari to Arc. It makes browsing faster for me. I also recommend following the team on social media.
Cursor AI helps me build MVPs faster.
Pendant - The team has pivoted to an AI pin that records what you hear and say. I’m interested to see where they take it. Preorders are open.
Flighty app - A friend recommended it. I’ve been using it for a few months to track flights and navigate airports.
We got a Vespa! Bara and I bought a scooter this spring for getting around Prague in summer. It saves us a lot of time and cost $2k.
In March, I got my gun license in Czechia and bought my first Glock (43X). I love picking up new hobbies and meeting people through different sports.
We got a new coffee machine! After a couple of years with Nespresso capsules, I stopped liking the taste. I switched to an espresso machine from De'Longhi and started ordering different coffees to try at home. So far, our favorite is Miners’ Ethiopia Bookkisa Espresso. Send us your tips!
Skincare routine with CeraVe: Thanks to Bara, I learned more about skincare this year and added SPF cream to my daily routine. I use CeraVe every day.
This year, I am gradually updating my minimalist wardrobe. Recently, I’ve been wearing mostly Lululemon and Alo clothes. I like the materials and plain designs, without logos or prints. I’m almost always wearing these trousers with OnCloud shoes.
Onesip opened a new coffee place near our office. I recommend you visit if you are in Prague!
Four podcasts I’ve been listening to
Anytime I have free time, I’m listening to podcasts. Here are my top picks from the last few months.
My investments in 2024
Most of my money goes back into the business. Here’s how I’ve been investing the rest in recent months. This is not investment advice.
Crypto (30%): expanding my portfolio, especially Solana, Ethereum, and Cardano
ETFs (30%): CSPX.UK and IUIT.UK
Stocks (40%): Tesla, Meta, Apple, LVMH, Alphabet, Microsoft, Groupon, Amazon, NVIDIA, CVS
If you found something useful, send me a DM. You can also email me with questions. I’ll do my best to answer.
Jiri